Door assembly, vehicle including same, and vehicle

Abstract

A door assembly for a vehicle can include a door panel having a front edge and a rear edge pivotably attached along a hinge axis to a frame assembly of the vehicle. The hinge axis can be angled away from a vertical direction of the vehicle at an acute angle. A hinge can be disposed at the rear edge of the door panel. The door panel can be configured to pivot about the hinge axis between an opened position and a closed position. A strut can be connected to the door panel and movable between an extended position and a retracted position. A net can be attached to the door panel and can be in tension when the door panel is in the closed position and can be in a less tensioned more curved configuration when the door panel is in the opened position.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A door assembly for a vehicle for selectively opening and closing an opening in a frame assembly of the vehicle, the door assembly comprising:
 a door panel having a front edge and a rear edge, the front edge located closer to a front of the vehicle than the rear edge, and the door panel pivotably attached to the frame assembly along a hinge axis such that the door panel is pivotable about the hinge axis, the hinge axis being angled away from a vertical direction of the vehicle at an acute angle; 
 a hinge disposed at the rear edge of the door panel and rotatable about the hinge axis, the door panel configured to pivot about the hinge axis between an opened position and a closed position; and 
 a strut connected to the door panel and movable between an extended position and a retracted position, the strut being in the extended position when the door panel is in the opened position and in the retracted position when the door panel is in the closed position, and the strut configured to be pivotably attached to the vehicle when the door assembly is mounted on the frame assembly of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       2. The door assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a net; 
 a plurality of net attachments disposed along a perimeter of the net; 
 a first fastener disposed at the front edge of the door panel, wherein
 the first fastener is connected to at least one of the plurality of net attachments. 
 
 
     
     
       3. The door assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the hinge, door panel, and net are configured such that a distance between
 a first net attachment located at a lowermost and frontmost location on the net, and 
 a second net attachment located at an uppermost and frontmost location on the net, 
 is greater when the door panel is in the closed position as compared to when the door panel is in the opened position. 
 
     
     
       4. The door assembly of  claim 1 , wherein
 the hinge axis and the vertical direction of the vehicle form an acute angle such that the hinge axis extends from a lower portion of the vehicle upwardly towards the front of the vehicle when the door assembly is mounted on the frame assembly. 
 
     
     
       5. The door assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a net connected to the door panel, wherein the door panel and hinge are configured such that when the door panel is in the closed position the net is placed into a substantially planar tensioned configuration, and when the door panel is in the opened position the net is placed into a non-planar slack configuration. 
 
     
     
       6. The door assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a net connected to the door panel, the net including a front leading edge extending from a lowermost frontmost corner of the net to an uppermost frontmost corner of the net, wherein the front leading edge is substantially linear when the door panel is in the closed position and the front leading edge is placed in an arcuate and less linear configuration when the door panel is in the opened position. 
 
     
     
       7. An all-terrain vehicle, comprising:
 a rollover protection assembly including,
 first and second longitudinal frame members extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and spaced apart in a transverse direction of the vehicle, 
 a first side frame member extending from the first longitudinal frame member in a vertical direction of the vehicle, 
 a second side frame member extending from the first longitudinal frame member in the vertical direction of the vehicle, 
 an upper frame member extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and connected to the first side frame member, and the second side frame member, 
 
 a first opening bounded by the first longitudinal frame member, the first side frame member, and the second side frame member;
 a front door assembly that extends across the first opening and between the first and second side frame members, the front door assembly being movably connected to the rollover protection assembly between an opened position and a closed position to selectively open and close the first opening, the front door assembly including, 
 a net assembly, 
 a door panel having a front edge and a rear edge, the door panel pivotably attached to the rollover protection assembly along a hinge axis, the hinge axis being angled away from a longitudinal axis of the first longitudinal frame member at an acute angle, 
 a hinge disposed at the rear edge,
 the door panel configured to pivot about the hinge axis between the opened position and the closed position, and 
 
 a strut connected to the door panel and movable between an extended position when the front door assembly is in the opened position and a retracted position when the front door assembly is in the closed position. 
 
 
     
     
       8. The all-terrain vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein the net assembly includes
 a net; 
 a plurality of net attachments disposed along a perimeter of the net; 
 a first fastener disposed at a location where a top edge of the door panel meets the front edge of the door panel, wherein
 at least one of the plurality of net attachments is connected to the first fastener. 
 
 
     
     
       9. The all-terrain vehicle of  claim 8 , wherein the net assembly further includes:
 a second fastener located at the rollover protection assembly for connecting to one of the net attachments, wherein 
 a linear distance between the first fastener and the second fastener when the front door assembly is in the closed position is greater than a linear distance between the first fastener and the second fastener when the front door assembly is in the opened position. 
 
     
     
       10. The all-terrain vehicle of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a net connected to the door panel, the net including a front leading edge extending from a lowermost frontmost corner of the net to an uppermost frontmost corner of the net, wherein the front leading edge is substantially linear when the front door assembly is in the closed position and the front leading edge is placed in an arcuate and less linear configuration when the front door assembly is in the opened position. 
 
     
     
       11. The all-terrain vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein
 the front door assembly is configured to swing through an arc that is greater than 90 degrees when the front door assembly pivots from a fully closed position to a fully opened position. 
 
     
     
       12. The door assembly of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a net connected to the door panel, wherein the door panel, net, and hinge are configured such that when the door panel is in the closed position the net is in a substantially planar tensioned configuration and when the door panel is in the opened position the net is in a slack non-planar configuration in less tension than the tensioned configuration. 
 
     
     
       13. The all-terrain vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein
 the hinge axis and the vertical direction of the vehicle form an acute angle such that the hinge axis extends from a lower portion of the vehicle upward toward a front of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       14. The all-terrain vehicle of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a second opening bounded by the first longitudinal frame member, the second side frame member, and a third side frame member; 
 a rear door assembly that extends across the second opening and between the second and third side frame members, the rear door assembly being movably connected to the rollover protection assembly between an opened position and a closed position to selectively open and close the second opening, the rear door assembly including: 
 a rear net assembly,
 a rear door panel having a front edge and a rear edge, the rear door panel pivotably attached to the rollover protection assembly along a rear hinge axis, 
 the rear hinge axis being angled away from a vertical direction of the vehicle at an acute angle, 
 a rear hinge disposed at the rear edge of the rear door panel,
 the rear door panel configured to pivot about the rear hinge axis between the opened position and the closed position, and 
 
 a rear gas strut connected to the rear door panel and pivotably attached to the rollover protection assembly,
 the rear gas strut being movable between an extended position when the rear door assembly is in the opened position and a retracted position when the rear door assembly is in the closed position. 
 
 
 
     
     
       15. The all-terrain vehicle of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a seat frame member, wherein 
 the strut is pivotably attached to the seat frame member, and
 the strut is substantially parallel to the seat frame member when the front door assembly is in the closed position and the gas strut is extended away from the seat frame member when the front door assembly is in the opened position. 
 
 
     
     
       16. A vehicle, comprising:
 a frame assembly including a plurality of frame members connected together to extend around a passenger space; 
 a first opening bounded by the plurality of frame members; 
 a plurality of wheels attached to the frame assembly; and 
 a door assembly that extends across the first opening in a closed position and extends away from the opening in an opened position, the door assembly including:
 a door panel having a front edge and a rear edge, the front edge located closer to a front of the vehicle than the rear edge, the door panel pivotably attached to the frame assembly via a hinge along a hinge axis,
 the hinge axis being angled away from a vertical direction of the vehicle at an acute angle, the hinge disposed at the rear edge of the door panel, 
 the door panel being pivotable about the hinge axis between the opened position and the closed position, and 
 
 a net connected to the door panel and frame assembly, 
 the net being movable between a curved configuration when the door assembly is in the opened position and a relatively less curved configuration when the door assembly is in the closed position. 
 
 
     
     
       17. The vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein
 the plurality of frame members includes,
 a first longitudinal member extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, 
 a second longitudinal member extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and spaced apart from the first longitudinal member in a transverse direction of the vehicle, 
 an A pillar extending from the first longitudinal member in a vertical direction of the vehicle, 
 a B pillar extending from the first longitudinal member in a vertical direction of the vehicle, 
 a C pillar extending from the first longitudinal member in a vertical direction of the vehicle, 
 the B pillar being located between the A pillar and the C pillar in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, 
 a first upper frame member extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, spaced apart from the first longitudinal member in a vertical direction of the vehicle, and connected to each of the A pillar, B pillar, and C pillar, and 
 a second upper frame member extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, spaced apart from the second longitudinal member in a vertical direction of the vehicle. 
 
 
     
     
       18. The vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein the net includes a plurality of attachment points for connecting to at least one of the door panel and frame assembly, wherein
 the hinge, door panel, and net are configured such that a distance between
 a first net attachment located at a lowermost and frontmost location on the net relative to the vehicle, and 
 a second net attachment located at an uppermost and frontmost location on the net relative to the vehicle, 
 is greater when the door assembly is in the closed position as compared to when the door assembly is in the opened position. 
 
 
     
     
       19. The vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein
 the hinge axis forms an acute angle less than 80 degrees with respect to a longitudinal axis of the first longitudinal member such that the hinge axis extends upward from a rear of the vehicle towards a front of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       20. The vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein the door panel, net, and hinge are configured such that when the door panel is in the closed position the net is placed into a substantially planar tensioned configuration, and when the door panel is in the opened position the net is placed into a non-planar slack configuration.